Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T05:37:24.448Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Inheritance of faecal egg counts during early lactation in Scottish Blackface ewes facing mixed, natural nematode infections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2016

S.C. Bishop  and
M.J. Stear
S.C. Bishop*
Affiliation:
Roslin Institute (Edinburgh), Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9PS, UK
M.J. Stear
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Clinical Studies, Glasgow University Veterinary School, Bearsden Road, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
*
†[email protected]
Get access

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of nematode faecal egg counts from Scottish Blackface ewes facing mixed, natural nematode infections (predominantly Teladorsagia circumcincta). The data set comprised 1445 measurements on 421 ewes taken at 4 and 6 weeks post-lambing, over a 4-year period. The ewes, themselves, were the progeny of 73 sires and 285 dams. Only Strongyle eggs were consistently present, and faecal egg counts from this genera ranged from zero (0·4 of all measurements) to 3388 eggs per g. Faecal egg counts were significantly affected by the number of lambs reared and suckled (increasing reproductive burden led to higher counts) by ewe age (older ewes had lower counts) and by previous selection history (ewes from a line previously selected for increased carcass fatness had lower faecal egg counts than ewes from a conversely selected lean line). The heritability of log-transformed faecal egg counts was 0·23 (s.e. 005) and the repeatability, including both within- and between-year permanent environmental effects, was 0·25 (s.e. 004). The apparent presence or absence of infection had a heritability of 015 (s.e. 007) on the observed scale and 0·39 (s.e. 016) when analysed as a binomial threshold trait. The genetic correlation between average 4-week weight of lamb suckled by the ewe and faecal egg counts was 0·24 (s.e. 010). The results suggest that faecal egg counts during early lactation are heritable and influenced by the reproductive performance of the ewe. Selection to reduce nematode faecal egg output from ewes during this period should be successful in reducing pasture larval contamination.

Keywords

disease resistancegeneticsnematodasheep.
Type
Breeding and genetics
Information
Animal Science , Volume 73 , Issue 3 , December 2001 , pp. 389 - 395
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bairden, K. 1991. Ruminant parasitic gastritis: some observations on epidemiology and control. Ph.D. thesis, University of Glasgow.Google Scholar
Baker, R. L., Mwamachi, D. M., Audho, J. O., Aduda, E. O. and Thorpe, W. 1999. Genetic resistance to gastro-intestinal nematode parasites in Red Maasai, Dorper and Red Maasai ✕ Dorper ewes in the sub-humid tropics. Animal Science 69: 335–344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barger, I. A. 1993. Influence of sex and reproductive status on susceptibility of ruminants to nematode parasitism. International Journal for Parasitology 23: 463–469.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bishop, S. C. 1993. Selection for predicted carcass lean content in Scottish Blackface sheep. Animal Production 56: 379–386.Google Scholar
Bishop, S. C., Bairden, K., McKellar, Q. A., Park, M. and Stear, M. J. 1996. Genetic parameters for faecal egg count following mixed, natural, predominantly Ostertagia circumcincta infection and relationships with live weight in young lambs. Animal Science 63: 423–428.Google Scholar
Bishop, S. C. and Stear, M. J. 1997. Modelling responses to selection for resistance to gastro-intestinal parasites in sheep. Animal Science 64: 469–478.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bishop, S. C. and Stear, M. J. 1999. Genetic and epidemiological relationships between productivity and disease resistance: gastro-intestinal parasite infection in growing lambs. Animal Science 69: 515–524.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brunsdon, R. V. 1980. Principles of helminth control. Veterinary Parasitology 6: 185–215.Google Scholar
Coop, R. L., Graham, R. B., Jackson, F., Wright, S.E. and Angus, K. W. 1985. Effect of experimental Ostertagia circumcincta infection on the performance of grazing lambs. Research in Veterinary Science 38: 282–287.Google Scholar
Courtney, C. H., Parker, C. F., McClure, K. E. and Herd, R. P. 1984. A comparison of the periparturient rise in faecal egg counts of exotic and domestic ewes. International Journal for Parasitology 14: 377–381.Google Scholar
Donaldson, J., Houtert, M. F. J.van and Sykes, A. R. 1998. The effect of nutrition on the periparturient parasite status of mature ewes. Animal Science 67: 523–533.Google Scholar
Dwyer, C. M., Lawrence, A. B. and Bishop, S. C. 2001. The effects of selection for lean tissue content on maternal and neonatal lamb behaviours in Scottish Blackface sheep. Animal Science 72: 555–571.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilmour, A. R., Thompson, R., Cullis, B. R. and Welham, S. 1996. ASREML. Biometrics bulletin 3, NSW Agriculture.Google Scholar
Houdijk, J. G. M., Kyriazakis, I., Coop, R. L. and Jackson, F. 2000. Protein nutrition, reproductive effort and resistance to nematodes in lactating ewes. Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science, 2000, p. 34.Google Scholar
Lawes Agricultural Trust. 1983. GENSTAT a general statistical program. Numerical Algorithms Group, UK.Google Scholar
Miller, J. E., Bahirathan, M., Lemarie, S. L., Hembry, F. G., Kearney, M. T. and Barras, S. R. 1998. Epidemiology of gastrointestinal nematode parasitism in Suffolk and Gulf Coast native sheep with special emphasis on relative susceptibility to Haemonchus contortus infection. Veterinary Parasitology 74: 55–74.Google Scholar
Morris, C. A. 1998. Responses to selection for disease resistance in sheep and cattle in New Zealand and Australia. Proceedings of the sixth world congress on genetics applied to livestock production, Armidale, vol. 27, pp. 295–302.Google Scholar
Morris, C. A., Bisset, S. A., Vlassof, A., West, C. J. and Wheeler, M. 1998. Faecal nematode egg counts in lactating ewes from Romney flocks selectively bred for divergence in lamb faecal egg count. Animal Science 67: 283–288.Google Scholar
Romjali, E., Dorny, P., Batubara, A., Pandey, V. S. and Gatenby, R. M. 1997. Peri-parturient rise in faecal strongyle egg counts of different genotypes of sheep in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Veterinary Parasitology 68: 191–196.Google Scholar
Stear, M. J., Bishop, S. C., Bairden, K., Duncan, J. L., Gettinby, G., Holmes, P. H., McKellar, Q. A., Park, M., Strain, S. and Murray, M. 1997. The heritability of worm burden and worm fecundity in lambs following natural nematode infection. Nature 389: 27.Google Scholar
Stear, M. J., Bairden, K., Bishop, S. C., Gettinby, G., McKellar, Q. A., Park, M., Strain, S. and Wallace, D. S. 1998. The processes influencing the distribution of parasitic nematodes amongst naturally infected lambs. Parasitology 117: 165–171.Google Scholar
Taylor, E. L. 1935. Seasonal fluctuation in the numbers of eggs of Trichostrongylid worms in the faeces of ewes. Journal of Parasitology 21: 175–179.Google Scholar
Tembely, S., Lahlou-Kassi, A., Rege, J. E. O., Mukasa-Mugerwa, E., Anindo, D., Sovani, S. and Baker, R. L. 1998. Breed and season effects on the peri-parturient rise in nematode egg output in indigenous ewes in a cool tropical environment. Veterinary Parasitology 77: 123–132.Google Scholar
Watson, T. G., Hosking, R., Morris, C. A. and Hurford, A. P. 1995. Faecal nematode egg counts and haemotology in Perendale ewes near lambing. Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 55: 202–204.Google Scholar
Woolaston, R. R. 1992. Selection of Merino sheep for increased and decreased resistance to Haemonchus contortus: peri-parturient effects on faecal egg counts. International Journal for Parasitology 22: 947–953.Google Scholar